The Creator of ‘Downton Abbey’ Has a Surprising New Project

Downton Abbey is ending soon, but you’ll be able to drown your sorrows in Julian Fellowes’ new book.

The creator of the hit PBS show is writing a novel called Belgravia that investigates class divisions between old and new money in London during the time of the Industrial Revolution. It will be divided into 11 installments to be distributed to readers weekly on a digital platform—a modern take on Charles Dickens’ serial literature.

Chapters cost $1.99 each, or the full set can be bought for $13.99, the New York Times reports. Each installment will come with audio, music, video, character portraits, family trees, and pictures to help readers get a better sense of the setting. Chapters will be available through the novel’s official website or major e-book retailers, including Amazon amzn and Barnes & Noble bks.

The first chapter of Belgravia will be released in April, shortly after the Downton Abbey finale airs. Jamie Raab, president and publisher at Grand Central Publishing, told the Times the timing was strategically set to attract fans of the show looking for more after it ends.

Raab added that she was drawn to the idea of releasing Belgravia in installments because Fellowes has proven through Downton Abbey that he’s capable of keeping an audience engaged week after week. “He gets how to keep the story paced so that you’re caught up in the current episode, then you’re left with a cliffhanger,” she explained.

Netflix, Amazon rack up Emmy nominations

The nominees for the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning in Los Angeles, and the spread of streaming networks into major network nomination territory has continued. The clear winner in that sense was Netflix, which seems to have decisively answered the question of whether or not their shift to original programming was worth it. (Hint: The answer is “yes.”)

Netflix received nominations for such programming as “House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” which was originally developed by NBC, who sold it to Netflix in 2014. It premiered on the streaming service in March, and the rest is Emmy nomination history.

Netflix isn’t the only streaming service to be recognized this year. The Amazon Instant Video comedy series “Transparent” received a nomination in the Outstanding Comedy Series category and one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, for star Jeffrey Tambor. The service received a total of 12 nominations altogether.

Some old standbys were also recognized. HBO received a staggering 126 nominations, 24 of which were for “Game of Thrones,” despite receiving a great deal of negative attention for its ultraviolent content. The episode titled “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” was widely criticized, with Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill taking to Twitter to declare herself “done” with the show after a “gratuitous rape scene.”

Other cable channels that received recognition included AMC, which won 24 nominations, including nods for the final episodes of “Mad Men” and the first season of “Better Call Saul.” Both appear in the Outstanding Drama Series category, alongside such stiff competition as Netflix’s “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black,” Showtime’s “Homeland” and PBS’s “Downton Abbey.”

Showtime received 18 nominations, including one for Liev Schreiber of “Ray Donovan” in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category, and one in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category for Claire Danes of “Homeland.” It also received three nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category, for Matt LeBlanc of “Episodes,” Don Cheadle for “House of Lies” and William H. Macy for “Shameless.”

If any show can be said to have been snubbed, it was “Empire.” The Fox drama has received high critical praise, particularly for star Terrence Howard. However, neither he nor the show received nominations. The good news, though, is that it’s already been renewed, and the next season premieres in September, so it has another chance to receive recognition.

Taken together, the nominations seem to indicate that the secret is out with respect to the quality original content to be found on streaming channels. It’s premature to count those networks out entirely, as ABC received 42 nominations and CBS and NBC each received 41, still more than three times what Amazon Instant Video got and a bit more than Netflix did.

Still, the fact remains that the streaming sites are officially giving the major networks a run for their money, and it’s probably safe to say that we’ll see this trend continue in the coming years. Eventually, we may see the streaming networks overtake the traditional ones entirely.

Manor from “Downton Abbey” on the market for $6.2 million

Byfleet Manor has fame, intrigue, mystery, and centuries of history. It is best known today as the set for the Dower House in “Downton Abbey,” which is the residence of matriarch Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, portrayed by Maggie Smith.

And now as the television series is coming to a close after six seasons, owner Julie Hutton recently listed the Surrey home for 3.950 GBP, or about $6.225 million. (The last season will air in the U.S. in 2016.)

The house last made the news in 2013 when a secret room was discovered. The room was found below flooring by workers installing computer cabling, and is 7 feet square with a bricked-up window. At the time Hutton told the BBC the room could have been a priest’s hole, leading to a secret tunnel that may have led to Newark Abbey, long since demolished in the 1530s.

One of the home’s more unusual features is this wallpapered ceiling.Courtesy of Savills

Of course, the estate also has a centuries-long history prior to playing Lady Violet’s home. Byfleet was established in the 7th century. The home existing on the site today was built around 1686, but incorporated some details of the previous original hunting lodge, which was gifted from King Edward II to rumored lover Piers Gaveston. The asymmetrical wings were added on in 1905, when the house was also restored.

Byfleet is more than 6,000 square feet on about 19 acres and is located in the town of Byfleet, just 20 miles from central London, and 15 miles from Heathrow airport. It’s a Grade II listed building, a category of the United Kingdom’s Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

Wood paneling adds an elegant classic look to this hallway at Byfleet Manor.Courtesy of Savills

The manor has eight bedrooms, four reception rooms, a wood paneled hall, a dining room that opens to a stone terrace, and river frontage. The interiors are appointed mostly in a traditional style, although one of the rooms has vibrant flower-patterned wallpaper on the ceiling, and one of the bathrooms has been updated with a fashionable copper soaking tub, marble floor and fixtures, and a chandelier.

Byfleet has also appeared in the TV adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Poirot: After the Funeral and the BBC series Cranford. The exterior served as Cinderella’s home in the 2014 Disney film Into the Woods.

Proprietor Hutton was previously the owner/manager of Vancouver Studios London aparthotels, and for more than two decades before that, she managed high-end residential rental properties. The house has also been open to the public for tea parties and Downton Abbey-themed tours.